The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-02-09
THE QUESTION ANswERsR.
A Remarkable Institution now Flour
lshirg in London.
London Globe.

1
"Nothing is so easy as the invention of yes
terday' is trusm of particular force when
$ brought in connection with the universal
, knowledge and Information Office, situated in
t Southampton street. Bloomsbury, which will
: probably be best known to our readers from
e the sight of elongated persons with lugubr-
d Gus faces, dressed in coats reaching to their
+ feet and carryinga lightly made desk, walk
5 ing along the main thoroughfares, for all the
e world like a series of new and revised edit
: ions of the Wandering Jew. These men He
}. perambulating branch offices of the eentrai
g information Office, and any inforalation CIV
: en- to them in writing will }" lorwarueu 70
: headquarters and repliaS W WITHOUT loss VI
v time. The history - thls relharAaoie insu-
!, tption Is hrief lat curious, since it differs
from oil si,saaar undertakings in the fact that
n is .aeither commercial concern nor
a ,soney speculation. The establishment of
!, universal knowledge and information Office is
n entirely due to Lord Truro, who started the
f Office with the double object of benefiting the
e public and providing new opening for the
r employment of women. ut was my idea,
: said the founder of the bureau, in the course
1 of an interview we had with him on recent
/ occasion, ito found central office, where
g any person could have any question answer
ed without delay, where researches INTO 1T
|. eratrre. science and art could be conducted,
h where all languages could be written or tran
/ sposed, calculations be made, and statistics
be kept always available" Such an instr
= tuition is now in fiourishing state of exis-
IS tence, and its work is as various as 1t is in
II teresting.
:, The system of arrangement is simple. Cor
= respondents have been appointed in every
70 town of Importance throughout the world.
Or Its interior working is divided into depart
il ments. each comprising range of subjects
i from agriculture to Hindoostani, and from lit
erature to engineering. A large staff, COM
ne prismg over thirty persons, is kept on the
It. premises, and among them are linguists ca
no pabk of writing and TRANSMITTING every tongue
~ from Welsh to Japanese, and from Portu-
'e. guese to Greek. One is a practical chemist,
u another an engineer, while among the rest
No. are Artists, designers, ladies well up in the
= various kinds of fine work, tapestry, &c, and
eI gentlemen of liberal education and literary
to knowledge for general research. Besides
ge these, ONE two hundred Others are employed
on varAus errands. A large staff is kept
neutrality-suspicious. at the British Museum,
anotherat the Guildhall Library. In short,
there $50 branch of knowledge, language,
or subiet on which immediate information
III ton requiring lengthy research. There are,
however, .wo things which the Office will not
do, and abut these Lord Truro, who, by the
NV way, personally superintends the bureau
oM every day, very particular. The first re-
~ lates to the ,uestlons a detective or inquiS-
a. itoral character; the s9Ond rule lays down
een that the ofc' shall not'nterfere with any Of
~ the professions. The arrangements in South
I'M ampton streetare admirable, but although es
y IN tablshed onlyin Januar, 1884, the worI
! NO has outgrown tie space Allotted to it, ant
rider IA 81 b,ndra1 iattars ~ ; W @
men .ta,S,,,t tha do rer, itt W pvut ~.
attended to and put nto the hnds of the lad,
or gentleman in whosedeparhent it may be
The questions are neat registered in book
in a and the answer, when seat, is lso recorded
le nd Some of these queries ais exceedingly Gu
lceef rious, and gfe interesting inagt into the
trleN bent of lessainds. Theyconpise ever
atlonsl Subject, known or r,eknown laseuaas In h
that translated into 5Ete that Nd back agS IAN
,, n1,ge We maaes come from abroad Tfse a0be
0ISfeSe foreign questions is generally An
80 CAPT binb az 1 1tt W aug ttpunsly n
oeeif Truro has aconired large and tn cnr Gy
lection OF foreign money. and stamps, Am
those we saw were Russian rubles. Roum
ian twenty-lei pieces, Italian lire, GerI
mada gulden, American notes and Spanish doll:
has to say nothing of rupees and postage staI
Aa H% galore.
t Ane The questions received in Southamp
r. 70 street may be divided into three classes
Har- ordinary, the curious and the ridiculC
nsnr though the aforementioned comprise Blu
Mont small minority. Queries respecting baird
nartv nose machines, qnack medicines, &C., are,
I.etoyy course, in the ascendant but of a II
,snIIv thoughtful kind are these such as that put
from al, Az d;fores,a 70 aom can
esant judging from the effects only?" Another
''oA' curing mind asks for the address of
headquarters of the non-polygamous N
MONS" Others demand list of the differ
ne TO " t The sjfh If Aha fig Qyfrna
safe hfse AISnoV q. u Isos ;S tbo natron sain
WI ~. Cupar-Fife, and fourteen or fifteen names
oaa men who deal in cotton-waste IN Spain.
AN; Anu correspondent writes from Japan to L
Ilshs ssthe French for opium CASTE, and ano
ing as from Worcester asks "who is in possessic
:, ,s CO. two estates in Santa Cruz. IL is tne la'
les Tha however, who distinguish themselves
i q me most, and their queries are as various
~ IN they are instructive. A. number nave
ss 3 o for correct costumes for fancy-dress D
avs, az one even requiring that of the Queen OF
epssntt ba. a request which was met with W,
nse Of color sketch of the dame IN question co
n l.,, % " costumed Two different ladies IN
ovnf emit towns have asked for recipes lord |
~ oS oo IA ing blusning a somewhat startling u
~ c th deed we could have more easilysHor-
ee. uhS a PRAYER for the secret Of ap5Sso. fglng
w So Gle s'Where," asks one P>"yjboa rites
lrdous. hss a;ao ~ =; tha AI,e reo,aQo recine
another vanish Aftr taS been
Z. nairsa1 eIghf ten daysca h asily un-
Iutrstovv, ands often reyeasdd at what is
- meanfg thIpetition foS ~ fticulars as
~. Dr. to hlje.oDoy postage saDS'se are at
$4,000 | losSm ~. Leaving ne Tx and quot
pron ;sAinp .ne general qiesf! we Gull the
ptop- ffnnif1,.. w no spole iyf House of Com
an $67, Hhat a.a rInptedlIor nty-two hours?'
nman- Fbo+ How to entadies' society?''
went imaS az Is .r the Tera speed of fire
nen' seq y, Wherecan dmb piano be pur
4 tbee nd and Russia "Glthe names Of arcbs
wilIressSsaPL racticingn Cothagen." "Giye adj
insSSseS OF home for lies suffering from ON
tblv p conna an DO lrdeaux pigeons real
Va Gne oUlne from Drdeale" From among tba
VII s guestlonS whid may3 characterized ne eh
en- ON ni awe we give he foiFing; "Does n bonso
~ Gn de- IRE burn Y or bul down ?" a onerv aT;
{ SWbSyt e; u AIMING fra wag. Another asks:
VET a aao y incest Wy to make MONEY! and
ed GaanoIher no hs evidently NOT VET iei anu
can a uTea de loth'sollowing, asks! sWhat
f fan 40 to- sabd?" but unfortpnmnt naI
and reply 0e'Sdiy stamps for fee x
ara 4 ne le regisrs fpm which we have o,o.oa n
VOL hnept lrrlct privacy, but were tbheu
t tbaiiaDle tn would give better in sigbts ID
s ,,0 M;orklp OF the minds of the pnhfic thno T.
@ any 'Ssi.hilaecords with which we are ' an
s S%ab,n ned ne charges made for answering
f fuvm quesms as these vary considerahil
S SaoLli one sling for an ordfnarv oner,1 W
ovnerai pnds for researches eTxtendin ,
c opel ienhy period. The entire 1yori- y ON,
h %e c "a hetly congratulate Lord Trnro anu nn
III pGsn the @ception and the carving ont o of
MS ingenhs scheme, out OF